Livebericht Disillusion

Livebericht Disillusion (mit Abaddon und By Brute Force)

Ein Livebericht von evilshell aus Lörrach (Metal Forces Festival) - 22.05.2004 (23767 mal gelesen)

In the same border region of Germany, Switzerland and France that spawned Destruction in the 80s comes the small, but well run Metal Forces Festival. On May 22, 2004, the seventh edition of this festival was held at the Sak-Burghof in Lörrach, Germany.

The location is a small youth center, which is located behind Lörrach's main culture center in a historic building that houses day care during the week. I wasn't sure how well a metal festival would be in this locale, but I was pleasantly surprised. The organizers did an amazing job of keeping things running smoothly and timely. Drinks were reasonably priced (no price gouging there!) and security was both laid-back and effective as no fights broke out and everyone was together as a metal family.

Starting the night was a popular band from Weil am Rhein, Deamogorgon. Young (the oldest member is 18) and female-fronted, they got the crowd moving to their thrash/death-thrash songs, including both an Accept and a Hypocrisy cover. I was very impressed with their stage presence, as well as the vocal control that Babs exhibited during their set. They don't quite have everything down yet - but they're young, and have time to grow into the band, their instruments, etc.

Up next was By Brute Force, an US-style death metal band from Cologne. Their appearance is schizophrenic, with the singer looking very much the part of death metal, and the bassist looking more like he belonged in a hardcore band, and this is reflected in their music. But this is exactly what I liked about them - a mixture of hardcore and death metal, aggressive with feeling, having riffs and melodies that stuck with me long after the show was over. Their name suits them, as their aural assault on the audience is truly done with brute force. I'm looking forward to hearing more from them in the future,

The biggest surprise of the night, for me at least, came next - Abaddon. Symphonic metal can sometimes be very cheezy and overdone, but Abaddon manages to not step over that line (except when the male vocalist donned a decidedly non-evil mask during one of the songs). Among their members are a biologist, mechanical engineering/philosophy student, an engineer and a teacher. I bring this up because I think their professions/studies are reflected in the depth of their music, the intricacies and the layers. I was very impressed with Diana and the full sound she maintained during even the highest octaves she sang; she was a perfect compliment to the growls from Markus. Time flew when they were on stage (and there were seven of them on a small stage!), and I couldn't believe how quickly the time passed when the final song came. Of course, the crowd demanded another song, which Abaddon graciously provided. I can't say enough good things about Abaddon's set, and I would certainly expect to see more from them in the future.

The final band of the evening was Disillusion, a band I'd been hearing a lot about and was eager to see. They've been getting airplay at my old radio station in the US, WCSB in Cleveland, Ohio, and creating quite a buzz in the States as well as here in Europe. Their songs are epic swirls of emotion, capturing so many different feelings in the span of one song. I'm sure this comparison has been made often already, and will be done again in the future, but if I had to compare Disillusion to another band, to give you an idea of what they sound like, it would be Opeth - but different. They're definitely a quirky trio, with Vurtox padding onto the stage barefoot, it seems as if he's playing mostly for himself. You can see his true joy at creating music, the depth and passion he puts behind his craft. Unfortunately, it seemed a lot of people had left or were taking a break for dinner in the other room during most of Disillusion's set, and they're definitely the ones who missed out on something special. They'll be playing the Summer Breeze festival this August, and I'm looking forward to seeing them on a bigger stage.

The Metal Forces Festival, which happens twice a year in Lörrach, Germany, is definitely an event worth attending. The next event will be in January 2005 with Tankard, Jesus Chrysler Superskunk, Tremors, Davidian and Dawn of Disease.

More photos can be found at my website, evilshell.net.